The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Israel Deserves Better - Yleem D.S. Poblete

by Yleem D.S. Poblete

The terms of any U.S.-Israel agreement must withstand comparison
to the concessions offered Iran in the JCPOA and show unequivocally that
Israel, a trusted ally and major strategic partner, fared better in
negotiations than an unconstrained enemy.

The German intelligence
service recently reported many clandestine Iranian attempts to obtain
dual-use chemical, biological and nuclear technology.

In the Iran nuclear deal, the parties decided to engage "in
different areas of civil nuclear co-operation," including construction
and modernization of Iranian light water reactors, provision of
technical assistance and on-the-job training. Meanwhile, Israel has been
denied a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with the US.

The one-year anniversary of the signing of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Western powers and Iran focused public
attention on the regime's activities and Obama Administration policies
and actions regarding this avowed enemy. Virtually unnoticed, despite
the linkage to Iran-related developments, were reports that Israeli
Prime Minister Netanyahu is being pressured to set aside reservations
and accept the terms the White House is offering for the Memorandum of
Understanding with the U.S.

As recent developments show, such an acquiescence would be mistake. There is cause for concern.Iran continues to take Americans and other Westerners hostage,
indicting three dual-nationals just days ago on unknown charges. This
remains a troubling pattern of diplomatic blackmail, negotiation by
coercion. Last month in Lebanon, a so-called parliamentarian for
Hezbollah, a terrorist surrogate of the Iranian regime, called for
"Israeli civilians to be kidnapped in a future war with Israel." He "boasted" that Hezbollah's missiles "can now reach Tel Aviv from Iran, not just Damascus, Beirut, or Cairo."

The German intelligence service recently reported on numerous Iranian
attempts to clandestinely obtain dual-use chemical, biological and
nuclear technology. The report by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz
(BfV), the domestic intelligence service of the Federal Republic of
Germany, also noted "a further increase in the already considerable
procurement efforts in connection with Iran's ambitious missile
technology program, which could, among other things, potentially serve
to deliver nuclear weapons."

In early May, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi, reportedly
revealed at a conference in Tehran that the regime had test-fired a
high-precision ballistic missile "with a range of 2000 kilometers and
pinpoint accuracy of 8 meters." In March, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) launched two Qadr medium-range ballistic missiles. On one of them, in Hebrew, was inscribed the phrase, "Israel must be wiped out."

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister recently said,
in response to the U.N. Secretary General's statement that Iran's
ballistic missile tests are "not consistent" with the "spirit" of the
multilateral nuclear agreement: "We will severely confront any move --
be it political, legal, or technical -- that hinders our missile
program."

Also recently, U.S. Department of Energy officials confirmed the
purchase from Iran of nuclear materials. Congress voted to block such
transactions but as media reports indicate that the purchase, amounting to $8.6 million in taxpayer funds, was conducted in April, the vote was to no avail.

More surprises could be in the offing. An oft-overlooked benefit in
the JCPOA can be found in Annex III, where the parties decided to engage
"in different areas of civil nuclear co-operation," including
construction and modernization of Iranian light water reactors,
provision of technical assistance and on-the-job training.Meanwhile, Israel has been denied a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S.

Some argue that, in light of the security challenges posed by Iran as
well as other state and non-state actors, Israel should accept whatever
the U.S. offers in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This
acceptance would be a mistake. A close ally -- the only democracy in the
Middle East -- and a much needed partner in U.S. efforts to combat
regional and global threats, Israel must not be turned into a beggar,
particularly when Obama Administration policies have, arguably,
contributed to an escalation of the dangers Israel faces.

Consider the billions in previously frozen assets released to Iran
under the nuclear agreement. As least some of it, by Secretary of State
Kerry's own admission,
will fall into the hands of the IRGC and other Iranian entities,
affiliates, and surrogates designated as terrorists and
terrorist-enablers. A separate $1.7 billion the U.S. Treasury
transferred to the Central Bank of Iran in January of this year, as
Tehran released Americans it had unjustly held captive for years, will
be used to fund Iran's military expansion.

For these and many other reasons, Israel's reported MOU requests on
security assistance, missile defense, and regional qualitative military
advantage are justified.

Israel is a major strategic partner, as declared in the United
States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, enacted on December 19, 2014.
The new law laid the foundation for expanded bilateral cooperation in a
wide variety of spheres including defense, intelligence, and homeland-
and cyber-security. Among other provisions, it enhanced
"Israel's trade status to expedite export licensing" for certain
defense-related technologies and products, and expanded "authority for
forward-deployed U.S. weapons stockpiles in the Jewish State." Israel is
also a major non-NATO ally and, in May of this year, was granted
permission by the North Atlantic Council to open a diplomatic mission at
NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Israel
is a major strategic partner, as declared in the United States-Israel
Strategic Partnership Act, enacted on December 19, 2014. The new law
laid the foundation for expanded bilateral cooperation in a wide variety
of spheres including defense, intelligence, and homeland- and
cyber-security. Above, Israeli PM Netanyahu meets President Obama at the
White House, May 20, 2011. (Image source: Israel PM office)

Perhaps it is time to fill the void in the security relationship with
the Jewish State, elevate the discussions beyond an MOU, and consider a
more fulsome security arrangement -- one that is comparable to those
with such trusted allies as the United Kingdom and Australia.

The Congress should lead the way, as the Obama Administration does not have "clean hands". A newly released Senate Subcommittee report
explains how the State Department awarded hundreds of thousands of
dollars in government grants to an Israeli organization that used the
funds to mount a campaign against Prime Minister Netanyahu in the 2015
parliamentary elections. President Obama once even questioned the necessity of maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge.

Ultimately, the terms of any U.S.-Israel agreement must withstand
comparison to the concessions offered Iran in the JCPOA and show
unequivocally that Israel, a trusted ally and major strategic partner,
fared better in negotiations than an unconstrained enemy.

Yleem D.S. Poblete, Ph.D. is a Fellow at the Institute
for Policy Research at the Catholic University of America. She served
for close to 20 years on the staff of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
U.S. House of Representatives, including as Chief of Staff. During her
tenure, she was responsible for such consequential measures as the Iran
Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, the Palestinian
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, and the 2007 MOU with Israel.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8537/israel-deserves-better Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.